Occupy Roesch

10:55 AM Dec 11th, 2012

by Cilla Shindell

Sometimes, students just need to do what they need to do to find a quiet corner to study with limited distractions. And if the library doesn’t have the right kind of space, enterprising UD students will create it.

That’s what several groups of students did when they pitched a makeshift camp on the fifth floor of Roesch Library for finals week, with blankets, pillows, trees, white boards, air mattress and even a Christmas tree taking up semi-permanent residence during the library’s extended hours.

The trees, couch and white boards were “abducted” from other areas of the library, said Kyle Healy, a senior computer science and engineering major. They brought in the Christmas tree and lights and other amenities. Healy said he and several others basically moved in when the library shifted to round-the-clock hours for finals and have spent several nights there.

The redecoration is primarily to block views of people walking by to avoid distraction, but it’s also creating a consistent studying outpost for the campers.

They say they’re using the white boards a lot, but readily cede them if someone else wants them.

They’ve hooked up big monitors to their laptops and strung lights on the library’s artificial trees, which serve a dual purpose, according to Andrew McClinton, senior mechanical engineering major. In addition to creating a kind of hedge to block distractions, “They’re awesome feng shui,” he said.